Lindsey Butt, 'Glenlee', near Yass, reading the last Agricultural Census form, watched by working pal, Annie. (Photo: Australian Bureau of Statistics.)

Regional analysts will benefit from small area data that an Agricultural Census is about to gather, with reliable estimates for most items available down to shire level.

Such data cannot normally be obtained from surveys the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts in off-census years.

In late June, the ABS will again conduct a major collection to gauge farm production levels and stock numbers for 2005-06.

It will show how the rural sector fared in the favourable seasonal conditions of 2005-06.

The census will go out to about 56 000 farmers throughout NSW and 190 000 nationwide.

For 2004-05, the ABS estimated that NSW farmers produced goods to the value of $8.5 billion, 24 per cent of Australia’s total production in the period.

"The agriculture census is conducted every five years and is the second largest collection undertaken by the ABS," Gemma Van Halderen, head of the ABS’s agriculture program, said.

"It continues a tradition of agricultural censuses and surveys that go back over 150 years."

"As in the past, the information collected on agricultural production, stock numbers, sales and land use practices will help decision makers and researchers identify changes in the NSW agriculture sector and to measure its contribution to the State’s economy.

"Agricultural census data is essential to both government and industry.

"For example, most businesses seeking to open a new processing plant in a rural area would use agricultural census data to identify the distribution and availability of produce or livestock in the vicinity,' Ms Van Halderen said.

Other examples include how regional data is used in supporting claims for exceptional circumstances support, assisting local government planning and identifying changes in the structure of the agriculture industry.

Data is also used, along with information from external sources, to create the series Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced.

Estimates of the dollar contribution various commodities make to the national economy is used by industry bodies to validate requests for research and development support from the Federal Government.

In recent years, a couple of changes in the frequency and timing of the agricultural censuses have enhanced their results.

In 1999-2000, a financial year reference period was adopted; also, it was decided to run the Agricultural Census in the same years as the Census of Population and Housing.

Results of the census, once all the data is received, edited and compiled, will be released within a year in aggregated form in various stages.

About seven months after the reference period, preliminary estimates of the principal commodities will be published at the State level.

A few months later, more detailed commodity data will be available on the ABS web site.